Dan, I'm sure that you had explained your screen name before, but now it is finally resonating with me. Cool.

And my avatar is also my current helmet. There's a reason for almost everything!

I really enjoyed seeing the different histories of cars fellow Axiomoes have gone through. I am jealous of those that got to enjoy those late 60's and early 70's legendary muscle cars. It's neat how seemingly isolated facts are actually clues and pieces of a rich tale of one's history. This is a pretty cool thread.

I believe that era of Mustang is fairly commonly referred to as a Douchestang. I never really thought of my Challenger as being similar (until now). I mean, I could make you a chart of the mechanical and perceived sociological differences, but I fear your mind is made up based on the aesthetics.

Okay, here's the rest of my story. I'm obviously including cars that may have been primarily my wife's at one time or another, because WA is a community property state. The only one of these pictures that is actually "ours" is the SLK, but the colors are basically right except as noted.

1996 Toyota Camry – maybe the best all-around car we’ve ever owned. Everything about it was just “right”. And I still marvel at the balance of power and efficiency of that 2.4L engine. This was the last good-looking year for Camry’s, IMO. We’d probably still have this car if some idiot hadn’t run into my wife and son at 9:09 am on 9-9-99 on 9th Avenue. True story. They weren’t badly hurt, thank God.

1994 Mitsubishi Diamante – Just not up to the same engineering refinement as the Camry. It started to burn A LOT of oil at about 120k. Swore off Mitsubishis after that.

1999 Ford Windstar – you got two kids and a dog? Or maybe a photography business? You need a minivan. Had it until December 2012 and it was the epitome of useful. MANY happy miles with the family. Electrical system was possessed by demons, however.

2004 Toyota Corolla – First and only New car. Needed something that Mrs. Tuttle could roll up the miles on, as we had recently moved “farther” from school and swimming. This will be Alex’s car when he gets his license next month. Great car, for what it is. We’ve walked up to the wrong blue Corolla in a parking lot more times than I care to admit.

1994 Toyota Camry SE Coupe – used to be driven by a little, old lady (my Mother-in-law). Great car. I drove it for about 5 years and it is my daughter’s car, now. This was the first year of the coupe. Ours is blue.

2007 Acura MDX – having had access to a van for the last 12 years, my wife was completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the concept of “packing light”. Absolutely amazing vehicle in every way. Probably the best drivetrain of any car we’ve ever had, including the Mercedes. Unfortunately, that drivetrain is lugging around 2.5 tons of leather, plastic and metal. “Comfortable” doesn’t begin to describe it, and it was easily the most interesting driving experience of any SUV I auditioned.

Thanks for the appreciative inquiry. I enjoyed my stroll down memory lane.